Alberto Ginastera und das Eldorado der Musik is the first comprehensive biography of the Argentinian maestro and the first monograph about him in German. It contains analytical excursus in all works, a complete and detailed catalogue of works as well as numerous photos from his eventful life in Argentina, the USA and Switzerland. Ginastera's aesthetics are examined in the context of the older and more recent history of music in Spanish-speaking America and of the undiscovered treasures the intellectual legacy of which he took on.Together with the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos and the Mexican Carlos Chávez, Alberto Ginastera (1916 – 1983) forms the magic triumvirate of modern Latin American music. His oeuvre, only partly known in Europe, is of unique variety, comprising piano miniatures as well as large-scale orchestral works, folkloric love songs of the gauchos as well as large-scale oratorios, concertos and avant-garde operas about psychologically interesting subjects. Ginastera focusses on pre-Colombian traditions and concepts of European New Music – often in one and the same work. Catholic religiousness is juxtaposed with shocking hallucinations of lust and brutality, and the experiences of transcendence arise from the immanence of elaborate, yet spontaneously accessible scores.The author Volker Tarnow studied philosophy, musicology and comparative studies. He works as a critic and music journalist for various print media, orchestras and festivals. Tarnow is co-author of Variationen mit Orchester. 125 Jahre Berliner Philharmoniker (2007). He published Das romantische Schweden. Reisen durch eine unbekannte Kultur in 2013 and the biography Jean Sibelius with works in 2015.

Das Goldfloß der Musica - Wo der Condor kreist - Die Stadt am Silberfluss - Gauchos und Gitarren - Ein General sieht rot - Gute Nachbarn - Frei! - Im Banne Bomarzos - Heimweh nach dem Ewigen - Anmerkungen - Lebenslauf - Werkverzeichnis - Register